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Don’t treat the Lord’s Prayer like a Magical Incantation

By Jeremy Myers
17 Comments

Don’t treat the Lord’s Prayer like a Magical Incantation

what is prayerIf you have been to prayer meetings, you have probably heard various types of prayer. Sometimes you might hear what I call “Magic Spell prayers.”

Praying with Magic Words

There are some prayers that people memorize and then say as quickly as possible, as if it is only the words that matter. The Lordโ€™s Prayer is one example. While memorized and recited prayers can be meaningful and helpful, they sometimes degenerate into jumbled string of words where the person praying simply tries to get through as fast as possible.

Magic Words Prayer

It sounds something like this:

Ourfatherwhoartinheaven
hallowedbythynamethykingdomcome
thywillbedoneonearthasitisinheaven
giveusthisdayourdailybread
andforgiveusourtresspassesasweforgivethose
whotresspassagainstus
forthineisthekingdomandthepower
andthegloryforeverandeveramen.

Such prayers are more often found in the liturgical settings where prayers are read out of a book or memorized and recited. The goal in such praying seems to be to get the words out as fast as possible. It doesnโ€™t really matter if others understand you or not, of if you really mean the words or not. All that matters, apparently, are the words themselves.

In such cases, I sometimes imagine God saying to such people, โ€œWhoa there! Slow down! Take a breath! I like that prayer, but I canโ€™t understand a word of what youโ€™re saying!โ€

Many wordsGod understands what is being said, of course, but He doesnโ€™t care for such prayers because there is no focus on relational communication in praying this way.

Those who pray this way reveal a mindset that believes that prayers are like magic incantations, where the only thing that matters is that you pray with the magic words.

This sort of praying might be what Jesus had in mind when He criticized some people in Matthew 6:7 for babbling their prayers, thinking they will be heard for their many words. It is not the words God cares about, and especially not how fast we can get them out.

When you pray, slow down.

It is better to say five meaningful words to God, then 10,000 words without thought or meaning. God wants a relationship; not recited prayers.

Do you want to pray like never before?

Do you what to talk to God like you talk to a friend? Do you want to see more answers to prayer?

If you have these (and other) questions about prayer, let me send you some teaching and instruction about prayer to your email inbox. You will receive one or two per week, absolutely free. Fill out the form below to get started.

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God is Redeeming Life, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: Close Your Church for Good, Discipleship, how to pray, Lord's Prayer, prayer, What is prayer

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What is Theology?

By Jeremy Myers
35 Comments

What is Theology?

People often hear pastors and Bible teachers talk about theology, but they want to know, “What is theology?”

Well, here is one definition of theology:

What is theology?

Did that definition of theology help any?

I didn’t think so.

If you are like me, you are probably more confused (and bored) now than you were before you read that definition of theology. If you are asking, “What is theology?” the only thing you really learned from that definition of theology above is that theology is confusing and boring. But take heart, theology doesn’t have have to be this way.

When properly taught, theology is not confusing and is never be boring. When properly studied, theology sets the heart on fire and opens up the mind to imagination and wonder. Let me show you how.

What is Theology?

Here at Till He Comes, my goal is to Bring Scripture and Theology to Life. I not only desire to write about these subjects in ways that are interesting and engaging, but also write about them in a way which shows how they affect your life right now.

So when people ask, “What is theology?” I not only seek to answer the question and provide a definition of theology that makes sense, but also to show how theology matters and how it makes a difference in your life today.

What is theology? Here is the basic definition of theology: Theology literally means “the study of God.”

But theology is so much more than that. When theology is truly studied, it ushers you into a deep relationship with God. Theology is not simply the study of God, but an interaction with God, a conversation with Him and with others about the deep mysteries of divinity. Theology is thinking God’s thoughts after Him. It is tracing the mind and heart of God, and learning to see the world through the eyes of God.

What is theology? Theology is entering into a lifelong conversation with God about Himself, ourselves, and how He wants to live life with us.

What is theology? Theology is learning to make God your best friend.

That sounds more exciting than the boring definition of theology provided in the image above, right?

Learning Theology

I suppose my answer to the question, “What is theology?” needs some examples.  If theology is ultimately an adventure with God, then theology cannot really be taught, but must be experienced. However, learning theology is the first step in experiencing theology. So below I provide some basic instruction about theology, the various categories of theology, and some of my own thoughts about theology.

You may notice by looking through the posts below that this is a work in progress. But that again is a truth about theology. When we ask, “What is theology?” we cannot expect to learn theology in an afternoon. Learning theology is a life-long process, which I believe will be continued in eternity. Just as God is infinite, so learning about God requires infinity.

In the post below, I seek to answer the question “What is theology?” by sharing with you some of what I have learned about theology over the years, and by asking some of the questions I still have.

There are two types of posts below. Some contain summaries of my seminary class notes. I know this might sound boring, but I do my best to summarize them in an interesting way.

However, after I summarize my notes, it is then that things really get lively. I take the theology I was taught, and then challenge, question, and critique it in a way I was not able to do in seminary (at least, not if I wanted to graduate).

Eventually, there will be hundreds of posts on this page, so you may want to Subscribe to the Blog so that you get new posts as they are published.

The posts are divided into the traditional categories of Systematic Theology:

What is theology? Click on a link to jump to that section of the page
|  Introduction  |  Bibliology  |  Theology Proper  |  Anthropology  |  Hamartiology  |  Christology  |  Soteriology  |  Pneumatology  |  Ecclesiology  |  Eschatology  |  Angelology  |


What is Theology

Introduction to Theology

  • Theology Introduction Category Posts
  • Recovering from Seminary
  • Theological Prolegomena
    • Paul Never Wrote About Justification
    • Adding Love to Theology
    • God is not a Science Project
    • The Different Types of Theology
    • Divisions of Systematic Theology
    • Introduction to Theology: A Reading List
  • Is Interest in Theology Waning?
  • Theology Quotes for your Critique
  • Theology God
  • What’s More Important: Truth or Love?
  • Knowing Your Theology
  • Questions about Theology


Bibliology

Bibliology

  • Theology of the Bible Category Posts
  • Introduction: Bibliology is Dangerous
  • Divine Revelation
    • Hearing from God
    • Dueling Revelations
    • Scripture vs. Science: Who Wins?
    • Revelation is Like a Bouquet of Roses
    • Seminary Class Notes on General Revelation
    • Seminary Class Notes on Special Revelation
    • Is God Red in Tooth and Claw?
    • How you can know the Bible is Divine Revelation
    • Get Rich Quick: Start Your Own Religion
  • Inspiration of Scripture
    • Views of the Inspiration of Scripture
    • I Don’t Believe in the Inspiration of Scripture
    • One Verse Doctrines
    • The Uninspired History of Inspiration
    • Is All Scripture God-Breathed?
    • A New Take on 2 Timothy 3:16
    • Is the Doctrine of Inspiration Biblical?
    • The Bible is not a Magic Book
    • Jesus Condemns Bible Study
    • Debating Inspiration with Myself
    • Why the KJV is an Inspired Translation
    • Which Bible Translation is Best?
    • The Best Bible Translation
    • The Inspiration of Nature
    • Most Inspired Comments
  • Inerrancy of Scripture
    • I am Always Right
    • Inerrancy of Scripture (Seminary Notes)
    • How to Solve Biblical Difficulties
    • Arguments Against Inerrancy
    • The Bible Contains Errors
    • Why Inerrancy Doesn’t Matter (…too much)
    • Is the Bible a Fable?
    • What if the Bible is  Myth?
    • The Problem with the Bible
    • Why was the Bible Written? 
    • How is the Bible True?
    • The Bible Was Not Written to You
    • Stop Living Like Jesus
    • Stop Obeying the Bible
  • The Canonization of Scripture (Seminary Notes)
    • Questioning the Canon of Scripture
    • How the Early Church Undermined Inerrancy
  • Miscellaneous Posts
    • The Impossibility of Properly Understanding Scripture
  • Questions about Bibliology

Theology Proper

  • Theology of God Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Anthropology

  • Theology of Man Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Hamartiology

  • Theology of Sin Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Christology

  • Theology of Christ Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Soteriology

  • Theology of Salvation Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Pneumatology

  • Theology of the Holy Spirit Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Ecclesiology

  • Theology of the Church Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Eschatology

  • Theology of the End Times Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Angelology

  • Theology of Angels Category Posts
  • More posts on this topic coming soon. Subscribe now to get notified of updates!

Books that Help with the “What is Theology?” Question

If you are eager to learn more about theology and cannot wait for me to finish the posts above, here are a few theology books that I recommend which will help answer your questions about theology. If you still want to know “What is theology?” the books below will help.

  • Norman Geisler’s Systematic Theology
  • Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology
  • Lewis Sperry Chafer’s Systematic Theology

If you have any questions about theology you want me to answer, please out the form below, and I will try to answer it in a future blog post.

    Your Name (required)

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    Your Question

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    God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: angels, christ, church, doctrine, end times, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, salvation, sin, Theology - General

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    Giving up the Wild Goose Chase

    By Jeremy Myers
    26 Comments

    Giving up the Wild Goose Chase

    I don’t know much about the Holy Spirit.

    And I think that’s the way God wants it.

    I used to think I knew a whole lot more than I think I know now.

    Wild Goose ChaseIt’s funny how that happens. Just when you think you’ve got God all figured out, He shows up and turns it all upside down. This is especially true with the Holy Spirit.

    So I know less today then I knew ten years ago…you know, back when I had all the answers.

    Don’t get me wrong. I tried to hold on to God. I tried to keep Him boxed up and tied down. When I felt Him slipping out of my grasp, I tried to corner Him.

    But I found that the more I chased, the faster He ran. The more I tried to trap Him, the slipperyer (try saying that 10 times) He became. God’s tricky that way.

    It’s like trying to catch a fish with your bare hands. Have you ever tried it? The more you move, the further away they swim.

    [Read more…]

    God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: Theology of the Holy Spirit

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    Recovering from Seminary

    By Jeremy Myers
    38 Comments

    Recovering from Seminary

    Dallas Theological Seminary

    It has been three years since I graduated from seminary, and six years since I entered.

    I still remember that my number one fear about going to seminary was a fear of freezing to death. Not physically, but spiritually. Many seminarians become cold and rigid. They have all the right answers, but none of the right life. I did not want that to happen to me.

    A funny thing happened to me though.

    I was so intent on warding off the cold, I think I might have burned up. …Or burned out. …Or something else I haven’t figured out yet. I’m not sure what happened. I didn’t freeze to death, but I did die. Who I was when I went in to seminary ย is not the same person who came out.

    Many days, I am still not sure that this is a good thing.

    [Read more…]

    God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: Theology Introduction

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    What is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?

    By Jeremy Myers
    30 Comments

    What is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?

    blasphemy against the Holy Spirit I receive a lot of emails and Google search hits about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and the unpardonable sin.

    One of the more popular search strings has been “Is adultery the unpardonable sin?”

    Let me answer that question quickly:

    NO. Adultery is not the Unpardonable Sin

    And while I’m at it, neither is suicide.

    But please, don’t do either of these things. If you are thinking about doing either, and fear of hell is the only thing keeping you from doing it, please contact me through the contact form on my About page.

    Here is a link to a short paper I wrote on the subject: ย The Unpardonable Sin and Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Below is an excerpt from this paper:

    If you, or your friend or relative is not a Christian [and are worrying about having committed the sin], then be encouraged. Almost nobody who commits the blasphemy against the Spirit wonders if they have. They don’t care about such things anymore. The unbeliever who commits this sin has become so morally and spiritually blind that their heart is hardened to the point that they no longer care about spiritual things and will never believe in Jesus.

    But nevertheless, some people are afraid they have. To them, I would simply say, “Worrying about it pretty much proves that you haven’t. So in order to make sure you never will be able to, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Whatever sin you may have committed, you are still being convicted by it, which is good. God’s grace will cover over that sin, and all other sins if you will just believe in Jesus for eternal life.”

    Are you afraid of committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit or the unpardonable sin? Don’t be.

    God isn’t out to get you, or set traps in your way so He can shout in triumphant glee, “Aha! Another one who will never experience my grace! Off to hell you go!”

    No.

    That is not the God of the Bible. That is not what Jesus was teaching in Matthew 12:31-32. That is not the message of Hebrews 6:1-8. God’s grace and what Jesus accomplished on the cross is greater than anything you can say or do. It is only when you come to understand the perfect love of God that all fear vanishes and you can start living for God out of love for Him, rather than fear about Him.

    So what is the Unpardonable Sin or the Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit? I have a series of about 20 emails that shares more:

    Do you fear that you have committed the Unforgivable Sin?

    Fear not! You are forgiven. You are loved.

    Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me which explains how you can know that you are loved and forgiven by God.

    (Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

     

    God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: adultery, blasphemy, forgiveness, sin, Theology of Salvation, Theology of Sin, Theology of the Holy Spirit, Unforgivable Sin, unpardonable sin

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